fragmeister

Thanks Neil, I think I was the most traumatised! But yes, that wont happen again. Cheers Jim

Thanks for all the concern over my dog too. ...and the dog is fine. Yesterday's "operation' took place in my shed, where we spend a lot of time together. It was actually quite tricky to get her to sit still while I cut the hook in half with some side cutters. She was not a happy puppy. I had my fingers in her mouth and she would have been excused for biting me, but she didn't. I was worried that she wouldn't want to visit me in there again after that, so today I cooked up some chicken and coaxed her into the shed. That worked a treat and after that, she came and went all day as I did some post fishing trip maintenance. At one stage though, did show her the side cutters, but she wouldn't look at them! LOL! How funny are dogs! Cheers Jim

I don't blame you! It was pretty cold outside the sleeping bag.

Agreed, I didn't see any spots on the tail, though, and I have never caught a Dusky so deep. Process of elimination though ... what else could it be. . Cheers Jim

Great report Yowie... I don't suppose you could push some of those flatties north, could you? Cheers Jim

Lovely pearlie, On my bucket list ..still yet to catch one. Cheers Jim

Hi Raiders, I decided on an overnighter because the weather looked very promising. So, on Thursday I launched at Wharf Road and headed off to Bantry Bay which would be my overnight base for an early morning fish outside Sydney Heads. I wanted to try a spot in 80 meters of Rosa Gully that had fished well for me in previous years, but I just never got back to. When I say it fished well, it was more about the quality rather than the quantity. Bantry Bay is a favourite spot of mine to anchor up on the public moorings and just relax the afternoon and evening away. Yesterday I got there at about 1:30 in the afternoon and that was just about on high tide. I had packed the boat with my overnight gear including the portable stove plus some sleeping kit and food of course. When I say "packed", I actually meant thrown in, so I rigged a couple of lines and started to organise the boat. I have a plan when I stay overnight in Bantry Bay, and it almost always plays out perfectly. It can be very slow during the winter, but generally you can count on a few bream when casting towards the shallows and at random times, some jumbo salmon turn up. More to my liking, however, are the tailor that turn up during the evening. They are good Jew baits and there are a few Jews that haunt the area. True to form, the Bream and the Salmon turned up, but there were no Tailor. All the Bream went back, and I settled in to a steak and sausages. Aside from the absence of Tailor there were no baitfish around either. I usually throw a few pillies in the berley bucket and after a while the yakkas come around for me to catch and save for fresh strip baits. Anyway, adjusting the plan, I put out a fillet of salmon on a two hook rig for a Jew. After a few hours I had an inquiry on the Jew rig and a few minutes later I had one beside the boat... and beside the boat was where we parted company. It was about 70cm long and would have been released, but my fluffing around with the net that I had lost track of in the dark made its escape a little quicker. Never mind.. But don't they look cool in the water under the glow of a head torch with that bronze side and reflective eye! I had a couple more takes later in the evening, but I was bitten off by whatever they were. A 70cm Port Jackson was the last catch of the night at about 10PM. I went to bed thankful that I had my -5 degree sleeping bag with me because it was a clear, cold night. At about 6am I headed back out into the harbour and through the heads off to my planned GPS location. I noted a remarkable lack of sea life compared to my trip out a few weeks ago. No whales, no dolphins and not many schools of bait. The forecast for 0.6M swell was about right, but the uncomfortable Nor Westerly was not predicted. Anyway, I headed out to my planned spot and started a series of drifts. There were lots of inquiries and lots of baits being mauled, so I downsized the hooks to see what they were ... small Bluespot Flathead and red spot whiting. I preserved, and eventually I landed a quality Flathead in about 80M. This looks like a Dusky to me, but I wouldn't expect to find them in 80M. Any ideas Raiders! Now for the slightly traumatic experience... I have a Border Collie called Ellie. She is very smart and very faithful. The whole family loves her, but she is clearly my dog. When I got back from fishing, I washed down my rods and I noticed that on one rod, the hook, restrained in a runner, had some bait left on it... you can probably see where this is heading. I thought, I must get rid of that, and I went about unpacking and cleaning the boat. Long story short, I find the dog half an hour later with a hook through her top lip and fishing line trailing out of her mouth. I thought the hook was safe in the rod runner, but clearly it was not. She had grabbed the bait, the drag on the reel has provided sufficient resistance to embed the hook in her top lip, and she had apparently bitten through the line, enabling her to come back in the house. I could see she was trying to deal with something in her mouth, so I grabbed her and took her into my shed. She was not happy with what I was doing, but eventually I managed to cut the hook in two and pull the barbed and the eye ends out in either direction. I was relived, the dog was relived, and it all ended up ok except for me feeling that I was the most neglectful dog owner in the world! All I can say, now that I have recovered from the trauma, is that I am glad it was a circle hook! Cheers Jim

Ain't that the truth! Been there 3 times and caught just one fish. It was a good fish, but I circumnavigated the dam only to catch it when I got back to my starting place! Great effort Jason!

Is this the one? https://portphillipmarinelife.net.au/species/3840

I am fit as a mallee bull, thanks Neil. Hope you are also well. Going out tomorrow actually for an over-nighter. Cheers Jim

Some great advice from members here and this may have already been covered. I tend to look to the predicted swell and wave duration not just on the day but a couple of days either side. I will go outside off Sydney this Friday The swell forecast looks like this ... pretty flat 1 day either side. Very little chance of the late Wednesday swells hanging around, and also very little swell well into the weekend. Cheers Jim

Hey Neil, Never fished TAS in spite of pretty much circumnavigating it with the Mrs a few years back. No fishing advice I'm afraid, but I hope you have a great time.. Plenty of subject for your photography. Cheers Jim

That's sound great Dave, Going to give that a lash tonight. Cheers Jim

Chunky Blue Eye fillets... are you trying to make us jealous! LOL!

I know you are only half serious, and I certainly have also been frustrated (as a car driver) sitting behind a few dozen cyclists through the Royal National Park at midday on a Sunday! Most serious cyclist try and avoid riding later in the day a get their rides over and done with in the very early hours when it is less of an intrusion for drivers (and for their own safety). Cycle registration is an interesting proposition. Does it mean that if push-bikes were registered, drivers would then accept them as equals on the road? Probably not, because it doesn't address the underling problem. The problem is that bicycles are incompatible with cars on the roads, at least in terms of complying with speed limits yet, drivers seems to expect them to play by the same rules. In sporting terms, that's a bit like putting an under 9's team against a 1st grade NRL team. If you did, by the way, put an under 9's against a 1st grade team, to level the playing field and make it safe for the under 9's team, you would make the 1st grade team give them a head start, play touch and walk! The solution, in my opinion, is better cycleways and to get involved in your local cycle club where experienced riders can guide you in safe riding. It also wouldn't hurt for a few drivers to do a long bike ride on the road and " walk in the shoes" of a bike rider for a better insight... a bit like how many people who ride motorbikes for the first time get an insight that gives them a new respect for the safety of motorbike riders and change their driving behaviour around bikes accordingly. Cheers Jim